Sander with universal handle and lock



Dec. 16, 1969 R. G. AMES 3,483,662

SANDER WITH UNIVERSAL HANDLE AND LOCK Filed Oct. 16, 1967 4 Sheets-Shee'fI l "ROBERT e. AMI-:s BY

fm 'M f? m ,Y

ATTORNEY Dec. 16, 1969 R. G. AMES 3,483,662

SANDER WITH UNIVERSAL HANDLE AND LOCK Filed Oct. 16, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ROBERT G. AMES ATTORNEY Dec.

R. G. AMES 3,483,662

SANDER WITH UNIVERSAL HANDLE AND LOCK Filed Oct. 16, 1967 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 53 62 INVENTOR,

ROBERT G. AMES ATTORNY Dec. 16, 1969 R. G. AMES SANDER WITH UNIVERSAL HANDLE AND LOCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed OC.. 16, 1967 I INVENTOR. ROBERT G. AMES ATTORNEY 3,483,662 SANDER WITH UNIVERSAL HANDLE AND LOCK Robert G. Ames, Hilshorough, Calif., assignor to Bliss & Laughlin Industries, Incorporated, (Bak Brook, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 675,466 Int. Cl. B24d 15/00; A4613 5/02 US. Cl. Sli-392 9 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A sander with universal handle and lock that has a body with a flat area with means for removably securing sandpaper to the area. The handle has a universal connection with the body so that the operator can move the handle for guiding the body in order that the at sandpaper surface will be moved over the wall or ceiling for sandpapering any desired part thereof. Novel means, actuated by the operator, is used for temporarily rigidly locking the body to the handle to tilt the body with respect to the handle so that the fiat sandpapered surface will be held at the proper angle to the handle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Wallboard joints are covered with a layer of mastic and tape and then a covering layer of mastic is applied over the tape. This outer mastic layer has its edges feathered into the wallboard surfaces and in some cases it may be necessary to sandpaper portions of the outer surface of this layer. A device with a fiat surface on its body has a removable piece of sandpaper covering the surface and a handle has a universal connection with the body so that the operator can move the handle for guiding the body over the mastic layer, the universal joint permitting the flat sandpaper surface to parallel the wall or ceiling surface during this movement. In sandpapering the mastic layer it may be desirable to lock the body to the handle to provide a rigid connection between the two so that it may be possible to tilt the sandpaper surface in order to have one edge thereof project farther than the other and permit the operator to concentrate pressure on this edge to use it for sandpapering a small area, and for controlling the tool when sandpapering exterior corners. I provide novel manually controlled means for accomplishing this.

Description of the prior art In my patent on a Universal Sander, No. 2,711,059, issued June 21, 1955, I disclosed a body that is connected to a handle by a universal joint. The body has a flat surface for removaly receiving a piece of sandpaper and the joint is placed as close to the sandpaper surface as it is practical to do so that the body will not have a tendency to rock or roll over on its side edges and swing the sandpaper surface clear of the mastic surface being sanded when pressure is applied on the handle to force the sandpaper against the mastic layer whether it is on the Wall or ceiling.

In certain situations, it is necessary to rigidly hold the body from any swinging movement on the handle so that an edge of the sandpaper can be forced into a corner that is covered with a mastic layer in order that this corner can be sanded. I provide novel means for doing this and it differs from my patent No. 2,711,059, in that the body locking means can be manually manipulated while the body of the tool is in contact with the wall or ceiling and the operator is standing on the floor.

nited States Patent O 3,433,652 Patented Dec. I6, 1969 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of my invention is to provide a sander with a universal handle that has a body with a flat rectangular surface covered with a removable piece of sandpaper. The handle has a universal joint connection with the body at a point adjacent to the plane of the at sandpaper and novel manually actuated means is provided between the body and handle for rigidly securing the two together so that the at rectangular surface is held at an angle to the handle axis with one of the narrower sides of the rectangle extending beyond the universal joint and positioned at right angles to the handle axis. The operator can use any edge with its covering of sandpaper to smooth various areas requiring special pointing up on the walls or ceilings. The manually actuated means for locking the body t0 the handle for rigidly holding the flat sandpaper covered surface at the proper angle with respect to the handle can be manipulated by the operator and he can free the locking means without the necessity of touching the body to accomplish it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the body of the tool Shown approximately full size and a portion of the handle is illustrated and its universal connection with the body.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal section through the tool and is taken along the line 2 2 of FIGURE 1. A portion of the handle is shown in elevation.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the tool on a smaller scale and shows the sandpaper covered face of the tool held against a wall of a room.

FIGURE 4 is a section through a portion of the tool and is taken along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is an enlargement of the dot-dash circled portion 5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 illustrates the tool body rigidly held at a predetermined angle to the handle so that the operator can use a sandpaper covered portion of the body to smooth the surface of mastic that has been applied to a room corner.

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view of a modified form of tool.

FIGURE 8 is a longitudinal section through the tool body and a portion of the handle and is taken substantially along the line 8 8 of FIGURE 7. The tool body locking means is shown in operative position.

FIGURE 9 is a longitudinal section through the tool handle and is taken along the line 9 9 of FIGURE 7. The tool body locking means is shown retracted and the tool body is illustrated in dot-dash lines.

FIGURE 10 is an elevational view of the tool handle when looking in the direction of the arrows 10-10 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 11 shows the tool body rigidly held at a predetermined angle to the handle with one edge of the body forced into a ceiling corner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In carrying out my invention, I provide a body that includes a rigid back plate A, preferably made of metal, a layer of sponge rubber B, and a strip of sandpaper C, see FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. The back plate is shown rectangular in shape and it has two parallel reinforcing ribs 1 and 2 that are spaced apart and extend throughout the greater length of the plate. The ribs 1 and 2 have upstanding projections 3 and 4, respectively, positioned midway between the ends 5 and 6 of the back plate A, and these projections support a universal joint indicated generally at D, and which will be described in detail hereinafter. The back plate A has an oval-shaped opening 7 for receiving the lower part of the universal joint D, and the layer of sponge rubber B has an aligned ovalshaped opening 8, see FIGURE 2, for also receiving the lower part of the universal joint.

The layer of sponge rubber B is cemented to the back plate A, and it is of the same approximate shape and size as the back plate. The strip of sandpaper C is longer and wider than the layer of sponge rubber B, and the back plate A, See FIGURE 1. The end 9 of the sand paper extends over the adjacent end of the sponge rubber layer B, and over the edge of the back plate and then the end is folded over the exposed surface of the back plate and is removably held in place by a clamp E that is U-shaped in cross section, see FIGURE 2. The clamp is removably secured t0 the back plate E by a machine screw 10 that is anchored to the plate and extends through an opening in the clamp E. The exposed end of the machine screw has a wing nut 11 secured thereto for forcing the clamp into binding engagement with the portion of the sandpaper end 9 that overlies the plate.

The opposite end of the sandpaper strip C is secured to the back plate A by a clamping means similar to the clamp E and like reference numerals and letters will be given to similar parts. Further description of this clamping means need not be given except that instead of the wing nut 11 being used, a nut 12 with a knurled head 13 is substituted and is removably mounted on its associate machine screw 10, see FIGURE 2. The sides 14-14 of the sandpaper strip C extend beyond the adjacent sides of the back plate A, see FIGURE l, and these sides can be folded against the adjacent sides of the back plate and the layer of sponge rubber B.

I will now describe how the universal joint D operatively connects a tool handle F to the back plate A, see FIGURES 1 and 2. A ring-shaped member 15 is rotatably mounted on two aligned journal pins 16 and 17 that are carried by the projections 3 and 4 on the Iback plate A. The journal pins do not extend across the interior of the ring-shaped member. The handle F has a ferrule 18 that extends into the ring-shaped member and a journal pin 19 pivotally connects the ferrule to the two aligned journal pins. The axis of the journal pins 19 extends at right angles to the common axis of the two journal pins 16 and 17, but it does not intersect this axis. The ferrule 1S is hollow and it has openings 20 in portions of its cylindrical wall.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the normal use of the sanding tool when the body A holds the strip of sandpaper C, flat against a wall surface 21, and the body has a universal connection with the handle F. This permits the operator to move the body A of the tool so that it will follow a layer of mastic, not shown, that conceals a wallboard joint. The handle F will continually be swinging into different angular positions during the sanding operation and the universal joint D will permit this movement and cause the plane of the strip rof sandpaper C to remain parallel to the wall surface 21. The same procedure would be followed when sandpapering a mastic layer covering a joint in the ceiling lying between two adjacent pieces of wallboard.

In certain instances it is necessary to sand a small limited area of a room such as intersecting corners or nail heads, etc. An edge portion 5 of the tool body A is used for this purpose and it is essential that the body be secured to the handle F, and held at a xed angle with respect thereto, see FIGURE 6. The operator G can stand on the floor 22 and reach a ceiling corner H, with the edge 5 of the tool body A. I provide novel handoperated means for preventing the tool body from swinging on the handle and for holding the tool body at the desired angle with respect to the handle. When the tool is used in this way the pressure is concentrated on a small area of the sandpaper surface that can be more effectively used in sandpapering a desired area of the wall or ceiling.

Reference to the edge portions 5 or 6 means the sandpaper areas lying adjacent to these edges.

Reference to FIGURES 3 and 4 shows the handle F provided with a hand-operated slidable catch I. The catch is formed from a strip of metal that is concave in cross section so as to slide on the cylindrical outer surface of the handle. The catch has a pair of longitudinally extending slots 23 that are in alignment with each other and screws 24 have their shanks slidably received in the slots and the screws connect the catch I to the handle F, so that the catch can be moved longitudinally along the handle, The end of the catch that is disposed nearest to the universal joint D, is formed into a hook J1 with a bifurcated end, see FIGURES 2, 4 and 5. In FIGURE 3. the hook I1 is shown disposed adjacent to and just above the nut 12 with the knurled head 13, while FIGURE 2 shows the hook moved downwardly so as to engage with the nut, the slot 25 in the hook receiving the nut 12 and the head 13 preventing the hook from slipping ofrr from the nut. The sides of the slot 25 may be slightly wedgeshaped so that they will frictionally engage with the nut and prevent the hook J1 from accidentally slipping oftr from the nut. The opposite end of the catch I is provided with a finger grip J2 by means of which the operator can slide the catch from the released position shown in FIG- URE 3, into engaged position with the nut 12 as shown in FIGURES 2 and 6.

OPERATION From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof will be readily understood. As already stated the hook J1 of the catch I does not engage with the nut 12 on the back plate A of the body when the tool is used for sanding a iiat surface of the mastic layer that covers a wallboard joint. The universal joint D permits the at surface of the piece of sandpaper C to remain parallel to the surface being sanded regardless of the angular position the handle F takes with respect to the tool body.

It is when the operator Wishes to sandpaper a corner of the room with the edge 5 of the back plate A, that he swings the handle F, so that the hook I1 of the catch I is disposed close to the nut 12 and then he slides the catch so that the hook will have its slot 25 receive the nut 12 and thus rigidly secure the tool body to the handle with the edge portion 5 of the back plate A being furthest removed from the handle. The operator can now place the edge 5 with its covering of sandpaper into the corner as shown in FIGURE 6 for sanding it and for pointing up small areas and for sanding exterior angles or beams. The operator can free the hook from the nut 12 when he again wishes to have only a universal connection between the tool body and the handle. The operator can release the hook J1 from the nut while still standing on the oor 22 and without the necessity of manually holding the tool body during this placing operation.

MODIFIED FORM OF THE TOOL FIGURES 8 to 11 illustrate a modified form of the tool. The tool body and handle of the modified form are similar to the preferred form in many respects and where this is true no further detailed description of these parts will be given and similar parts will be given like reference characters except that they will be primed. The main difference between the modied form and the preferred form is in the locking mechanism for rigidly holding the tool body at a desired angle with respect to the axis of the handle when the operator wishes to use the edge portion 5 of the back plate A' to sand a room corner. In fact this novel locking mechanism will also permit the operator to use the opposite edge 6 of the back plate to be used for sandpapering a room corner. In other words, the handle K can be rigidly secured to the back plate A of the tool body as shown in FIGURE 8, or the handle can be swung with respect to the tool body through approximately a 160 angle so as to extend in an opposite direction to that shown in the same igure and locked rigidly in place to the body. This permits either edge 5 or 6' to be used for sandpapering a corner.

I will now describe the structural differences of the modified form of tool. The back plate A' has in addition to the reinforcing ribs 1' and 2 and the projections 3 and 4', a bracket L that is used for supporting the vhandle K in either of its two extreme inclined positions with respect to the back plate A', one of them being shown in FIGURE 8. This bracket has a bottom wall that contacts with the outer surface of the back plate A' and integral side walls 51 and 52 extend at right angles t0 the bottom wall 5t), see also FIGURE 7. The side wall 51 contacts with the inner surface of the rib 1' and projection 3' while the other side wall S2 contacts with the inner surface of the other rib 2 and projection 4'.

The trunnions or journal pins 16' and 17' that are carried by the projections 3 and respectively, extend through openings in the side walls 51 and 52, as well as extending into diametrically opposed openings in the ring-shaped member 15' of the universal joint D. The handle K has a hollow tubular portion 53, see FIGURE 9, that has a ferrule 54 connected to one end thereof and a cylindrical coupling 55 has a threaded end 56 that is screwed into a threaded opening in the coupling. The coupling 55 has a head 57 at its other end and a pair of aligned trunnions 58 extend inwardly from the ring 15 and are received in aligned bores 59 provided in the head 57. The bores 59 have a common axis that extends at right angles to the common axis of the journal pins 17' and 18 and is spaced from this axis. This structure provides a universal connection D' between the handle K and the back plate A'.

The coupling 55 has a longitudinally extending cylindrical bore 60 in which a plunger 61 is slidably mounted, see FIGURE 9. A hollow central rod 62 is disposed within the tubular portion 53 of the handle K and has one end connected to the inner end of the plunger 61. One or more guide discs 63 are spaced along the interior of the tubular portion 53 of the handle and each has a central opening for slidably receiving the rod 62. Near the rear end of the rod 62, I mount a cylindrical guide and supporting member 64 that has a central bore for receving the rod, A rod moving knob 65 has its threaded shank screwed into a threaded bore in the cylindrical guide 64 and the shank extends into the hollow rod 62 so that a moving of the knob will move the rod.

The shank of the knob 65 is slidably received in a bayonet slot 66 provided in the tubular portion 53 of the handle K, See FIGURES 9 and 10. The slot 66 iS I-shaped when looking at FIGURE l0, and the knob 65 can be manually moved along the longer leg of the slot from the full to the dot-dash line position shown in the same figure. This movement will advance the hollow rod 62 and plunger 61 from the full to the dot-dash line position shown in FIGURE 9. The outer end of the plunger 61 is made pointed as at 61a.

FIGURE 8 shows the base bracket L with its bottom wall 5t) provided wi'h an upwardly inclined portion 56a against which the pointed end 61a of the plunger 61 is pushed when the operator moves the knob 65 from the full to the dot-dash line position shown in FIGURE l0. There are two angular positions about apart into which the handle K may be swung with respect to the back plate A and in either of these two positions the operator can extend the plunger 61 from the full to the dot-dash position shown in FIGURE 9, for rigidly connecting the back plate to the handle for preventing any angular swinging of the one with respect to the oher. Both ends of the base bracket L are provided with downwardly inclined portions 67 extending from the crest 68 to contacting with the back plate A' and then the base bracket ends have upwardly inclined portions 69 that in turn have recesses 69a in their outer edges for receiving the errule 54 of the handle when the latter is swung into the position shown in FIGURE 8.

Friction between the surfaces of the plunger pointed end 61a and the upwardly inclined portion 50a of the bottom Wall 50 on the base bracket L, Will prevent the accidental retraction of the plunger 61 `back into the bore 60 of the cylindrical coupling 55, see FIGURE 8. The back plate A' will be held at the fixed angle with respect to the axis of the handle K, and the operator G', in FIGURE 11, can use the sandpaper covered edge portion 5' of the tool body to smooth the surface of the mastic layer, not shown, in the ceiling corner H of the room.

When the operator finishes sandpapering the room corner H', in FIGURE 1l, he can move the knob 65 from the dot-dash to the full line position shown in FIGURE 10. He can then move the knob angularly with respect to the handle K, and finally move the knob into the shorter leg portion of the J-shaped slot 66. This will hold the plunger 61 in retracted position and now the tool body will have a universal connection with the handle.

All of the other parts of the tool shown in the modified form of the device illustrated in FIGURES 7 to 1l inclusive are similar to those in the preferred form illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 6 inclusive and no further detailed description need be given.

The tool is not limited to use on dry wall construction and it is not limited to smoothing surfaces forming room corners. The object of the invention is not to use only an edge of the tool for sandpapering purposes. The main purpose is to tilt the body with respect to the handle so that the at sandpapered surface will be at the proper angle to the handle with one end raised slightly with respect to the other and then rigidly secure the body to the handle to prevent any universal movement between. The operator can now apply all of the pressure to this slightly raised end of the sandpaper surface so that he can concentrate this surface portion on the area he wishes to smooth in a finished manner. In using the modilied form of tool the sandpaper area adjacent to the edge 5 or the sandpaper area adjacent to the edge 6 can be used. Since the tool body can be rigidly held on the handle in either one of two positions, the sandpaper areas just mentioned will remain firm and permit the operator to use either portion for pointing up any part of the wall or ceiling. The tool is not to be conlined to only sandpapering a mastic surface.

I claim:

1. A sandpapering tool comprising:

(a) a body having a tiat surface with an edge and a back, the flat surface being covered with sandpaper;

(b) an elongated handle;

(c) a universal joint mounted substantially at the center of said body back and being connected to an end of said handle for permitting said body to swing into different angular positions with respect to said handle;

(d) an elongated manually actuated member slidably carried by said handle and having an end disposed near to said universal joint; and

(e) cooperating locking means carried by said slidable member and said body and being manually actuated for rigidly securing said body to said handle for preventing universal movement Ibetween the two after said body has been swung into a predetermined position for disposing said liat sandpaper surface and edge at a desired angle with respect to said handle.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, and in which (a) the sandpaper covered edge of said iiat surface extends beyond the universal connected end of said handle and transverse to the longitudinal axis of said handle when said cooperating locking means rigidly secures the body from swinging on the handle, one

end of said flat surface being raised slightly with respect to the other end.

3. A sandpapering tool comprising:

(a) a body having a flat surface with an edge and a back, the flat surface and at least two of its edges being covered with sandpaper;

(b) an elongated handle;

(c) a universal joint mounted substantailly at the center of said ybody back and being connected to an end of said handle for permitting said body to swing into different angular positions with respect to said handle;

(d) an elongated manually actuated member slidably carried by said handle and having its end that is disposed nearest the body, hook-shaped;

(e) said body having a hook-receiving member positioned to receive said hook-shaped end when said body is swung into a predetermined angular position with respect to said handle and said elongated member is moved for connecting the hook-shaped end to said hook-receiving member.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 3, and which (a) the sandpaper covered edge of said at surface extends lbeyond the universal connected end of said handle and transverse to the longitudinal axis of said handle when said hook-shaped end engages with the hook-receiving member of said body for rigidly securing the latter to said handle.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4, and in which (a) said hook-receiving member is disposed on said body at a point removed from the sandpaper covered edge of said at surface; and

(b) means for removably clamping a piece of sandpaper to said body;

(c) said hook-receiving member also removably securing said clamping means to said body for clamping the sandpaper in place.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 3, and in which (a) the hook-shaped end of said slidable member is bifurcated with the two edges of the slot forming the bifurcation being slightly inclined with respect to each other to form a wedge-shaped recess; and

(b) said hook-receiving member having a shank receivable in said wedge-shaped recess and having an enlarged head at its outer end for preventing said hookreceiving member from accidentally slipping olf the end of said shank, the inclined edges of said wedgeshaped recess frictionally engaging with said shank for holding the hook to the shank.

7. A standpapering tool comprising:

(a) a body having a at surface with an edge and a back, the at surface and edge being covered with sandpaper;

(b) an elongated hollow handle;

(c) a universal joint mounted substantially at the center of said body back and being connected to an end of said handle for permitting said body to swing into different angular positions with respect to said handle;

(d) an elongated manually actuated rod slidably mounted in said hollow handle and having an end extendible through said joint and into contact with said back for providing a rigid connection between said handle and said back and preventing said body from swinging with respect to said handle.

8. The combination as set forth in claim 7, and in which (a) a bracket is mounted on said back and has a supfor said handle when the latter is swung into a predetermined inclined position with respect to said back;

(b) said rod end being conical-shaped and said bracket having a surface adapted to be frictionally contacted by said conical end when said rod is manually extended;

(c) whereby said rod is prevented from accidental retraction and said rod cooperates with said bracket support for rigidly holding said body on said handle.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8, and in which (a) the flat surface has two parallel edges arranged at opposite ends of said body, both edges being covered with sandpaper;

(b) said bracket has two spaced apart supports for said handle permitting the latter to be swung into either one of two predetermined inclined positions with respect to said back, one of said sandpaper covered edges extending beyond the end of said handle when the latter is received in one of said bracket supports and the other sandpaper covered edge extending beyond the same handle end when said handle is received in the other bracket support; and

(c) said bracket has two spaced apart surfaces, one of said surfaces being frictionally contacted by said conical end of said rod when said handle is received in one of said bracket supports and said rod is manually extended and the other one of said surfaces being frictionally contacted by said rod end when said handle is received in the other bracket support and the rod is manually extended.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,059 6/1955 Ames 51-392 OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

